Squinting against the blazing Florida sunshine, I’m trying to get a look at Mako – the newest, longest, fastest and tallest roller-coaster in town. And when you consider Orlando is the theme park capital of the world, that’s got to be some accolade.
My gaze goes 200ft up to see a terrifying drop. And although I know there’s almost a mile of Mako track, I simply can’t see all of the vast structure at once from the ground at SeaWorld.
“It’s so long you can have a conversation about how good it is while you’re on it,” says Brian Morrow – who has the fun job title of vice president of theme park experience and design – as he shows us around.
He tells us that for purists this is not just a rollercoaster, it’s a “hypercoaster”.
The main requirement for that status is a shriek-inducing drop of 200ft or more – and presumably that it scrambles your brain for a minute after it stops.
We’d had a spin on other rides in the same park – Manta, a “flying” coaster which swoops along belly-down like a stingray; Journey to Atlantis, a traditional log flume; and Kraken, which left me feeling woozy with seven loops including a zero-gravity roll.
But they were small fry compared to Mako, named after one of the fastest sharks in the ocean. It is designed to leave you breathless as you skim over the park along 4,760ft of track.
Mako lasts three minutes, so don’t eat any burgers immediately before boarding.
Its creators call it an “airtime monster” – their own Frankenstein. It means you drop heights of anything up to 200ft nine times and get a free-falling feeling as you are lifted out of your seat on each plunge.
Either that, or a feeling your stomach is about to lurch out of your body.
Bearing in mind Brian Morrow’s words about having a chat with my fellow riders, I wondered what we’d talk about on our way round.
But after climbing in our cart to the first 200ft summit constantly thinking “we must be at the top now” (we weren’t) we were fired at 73mph face-down over the edge. Conversation was impossible.
All I could muster was a high-pitched scream. Three minutes later, in a blur of hurtling up and down, Mako had made its mark. All my fellow riders broke out in applause. All I knew was my legs were shaking, but I wanted to go round again. And again.
After the second and third rides, I realised Mako wasn’t as scary as it first seemed – it’s just huge fun.
The ride is completely forward-facing, so there are no loops or dangling upside down. Instead of being a nerve-jangler it’s just a real rush.
Our ride on Orlando’s latest coaster was part of a four-day fun-fest which included water park Aquatica, with dozens of slides ranging from mild to terror-inducing, and Discovery Cove, which brings you closer to nature.
Another of our stops was Busch Gardens in Tampa, around an hour from Orlando.
This park, renowned for white- knuckle thrill rides, is not shying away from the never-ending race for the biggest and best attractions in Florida, and Cobra’s Curse is their latest addition.
It’s now open to the public and we visited just beforehand for a tour.
It features a 70ft lift which drops you off to face the angry Snake King Venymyss. Your cart is then cleverly connected with the rest of the track and, under the gaze of the snake’s gleaming green eyes, you are set free spinning along a dizzying coiled track.
It’s billed as a family spin coaster, and each ride is slightly different, depending on the way people’s weight is distributed in the cart.
Even the wait for the ride has been turned into an experience, with a story to follow in the queue and real mambas and pythons slithering behind eerily-lit tanks.
No trip in Florida would be complete without a large rainstorm to clear the humid air. It meant a break for lunch and time to catch the pet show Opening Night Critters, not too dissimilar from the doggy antics you’d see on Britain’s Got Talent.
When the skies cleared, we were able to go on Busch Gardens' Serengeti Safari across the park’s plains. There we hand-fed adorable giraffe Cupid her favourite romaine lettuce, and got the chance to see antelope, zebra and rhinos.
Later at the animal hospital we were introduced to an unfeasibly cute baby sloth clinging to mum as they shared hibiscus flowers and mangoes for lunch.
Finally, a quick blast on Cheetah Hunt finished our Busch day. The triple-launching coaster fires you up to 60mph along a crazy corkscrew track. It was so intense I couldn’t stop laughing as we jolted to a stop.
Discovery Cove was the perfect chance to relax after all the dizzying rides. Here you can swim with dolphins, go snorkelling or simply float along a lazy river.
Another highlight is the large aviary where you can get up close to colourful birds and feed them as they perch on your arm to pick blueberries and seeds from your feeding cup.
Our final day was spent back in Orlando at Aquatica – a water park which is great for kids and adults alike. There’s a whole host of slides from the insane Ihu’s Breakaway Falls, where you’re sent plunging 80ft into tubes through a trap door.
But there are more sedate rides too, such as Dolphin Plunge, where you slide past a pod of black and white Commerson’s dolphins in a transparent tube, or family ride Walhalla Wave which allows up to four in a raft at a time.
There’s more to Orlando than rides of course – at night we partied at the Tin Roof, a live music bar downtown.
My favourite night was our meal at Cafe Tu Tu Tango, which offered everything from Mexican tapas to Cuban sandwiches, works by local artists for sale and fire-breathers performing
near the bar.
Orlando is a great place to switch off and relax, or face your fears (in a fun way) on the ever-more extreme rides.
We all got ready to head home with smiles of sheer exhilaration on our faces, wondering if there was time for just one more ride on Mako before heading to the airport...
Get there
Virgin Holidays has 7nts r/o at the 4* Doubletree by Hilton Orlando hotel at SeaWorld from £809pp based on 2 sharing inc Virgin Atlantic flights from Gatwick to Orlando on Nov 7 and car hire; Manchester departure on Nov 16 from £759pp. virginholidays.co.uk 0344 557 3870.
The Discovery Cove Ultimate package includes a full-day experience at Discovery Cove, a 30-minute dolphin swim and 14 consecutive days’ unlimited admission to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Aquatica. From £163pp at attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk
Tourist info: seaworldparks.co.uk - visitorlando.com - visittampabay.com - visitflorida.com - visittheusa.com
Time zone: UK -5hrs
Currency: US$ £1 = 1.27
Best time to go: Make tracks for Mako this autumn